Monday Dispatch: Gotham's post-title recruitment is onimous
Plus, Jamaica's sad situation, Gemma Grainger's big move, Temwa Chawinga on the radar and Victoria Pelova's top-level emergence
Gotham’s recruitment gleans among wider story of club’s rise
The NWSL is such an unpredictable league year on year due to its franchised nature, trades, drafts and more, so it's always hard to find a true rags to riches story, but this is probably about as close as it gets.
NJ/NY Gotham FC sneaked into the play-offs in 2023, finishing only sixth in the league across the whole season as San Diego Wave took home the NWSL Shield, but the mid-table side came to life in the play-offs and ended up taking home the Championship, coached by former Tottenham Hotspur joint-head coach in Juan Carlos Amorós.
Until 18 months ago, Amorós hadn't ever coached in a league which is well-known to be a tough league for any coach to adapt to, and many who have moved from England to the USA have tried and failed, while others have succeeded in time. After a bright end to the season as Houston Dash interim head coach last season, Gotham made the move for the Spaniard.
In 2022, Gotham finished rock bottom with just four wins from 22 games, six points adrift of their closest rivals. The turnaround has been immense. For a team which only three years ago was still infamously known as Sky Blue FC, a team more often embroiled in scandals and a criticism of lack of support and standards, the fact it has turned around so quickly is incredible.
But their recruitment plan was smart. Amorós brought in players experienced in the NWSL, such as Lynn Williams and Kelley O'Hara, while their only signing of the draft, Jenna Nighswonger, was a revelation.
In the summer, Amoros sprinkled a bit of his own Spanish knowledge on the side, signign Maitane López and Spain international forward Esther González, who ended up scoring the winner in the play-off final against OL Reign.
From where they've come from, it's remarkable, and now as of this week they have added Tierna Davidson, Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle and Emily Sonnett to the squad.
Jamaica’s latest blow adds to glum feeling right now
The situation with the Jamaica women's national team was incredibly sorry even before their inspirational run to the second round of the World Cup last summer. There's little doubt they have done it very much in spite of their federation, the JFF, rather than because of them, and things have sadly gone even further backwards despite their relative success.
Placed in a group with giants of the game such as France and Brazil, very few gave the Caribbean nation a chance given what they were up against, but not only did they go through at the latter's expense, they didn't concede a single goal in the group stage, which is no mean feat for any team, let alone one facing up to that level of opposition. For reference, eventual champions Spain conceded four in one game alone.
Head coach Lorne Donaldson coached the side admirably through difficult times and clearly had them set up well, and only a single goal denied them a quarter-final with European champions England. Jamaica's loss is Chicago's gain where Donaldson is confirmed, and they still haven't confirmed a permanent replacement despite the tournament now being almost half a year ago.
The latest blow came two weeks ago when Cedella Marley, the team's main benefactor over the past decade, confirmed she was standing down as the Global Ambassador. Marley cited in a statement her "disappointment and growing concern" at an ever-growing rift between the JFF and the team, and many of the players who shone at the World Cup have not returned for camps since the Olympic qualifiers, with the JFF relying on a back-up squad.
Without Marley's support, the hope is the JFF will finally take it upon themselves to do the right thing and invest themselves, but given the squad had to start a gofundme just to help them get to the World Cup, no one is being fooled into thinking it will happen. For a team who showed on the pitch they had so much potential with proper support, it's a huge shame it has come to this.
Monday Dispatch is a free weekly post. For access to all premium stories and to support further features, interviews and analysis, please consider a paid subscription.
Check out our dedicated Premium section, which you’ll gain access to with either a £10 a month rolling subscription, with a 7-day free trial, or £60 annual subscription, paid in one go…
Pelova has become an underrated BWSL star
The BWSL is certainly one of the best leagues in the world right now, and the financial might of Premier League clubs is pushing it only one way when it comes to trying to recruit the biggest and best players in the world.
But sticking with the recruitment theme, I imagine it's a satisfying feeling for any coach to pluck a talented youngster out of a developing league and watch them shine immediately in one of the toughest leagues.
That's what's happening with Victoria Pelova, just a year after she left behind Ajax to become the latest Dutch international to grace the Arsenal shirt.
Relevant Read: How Dutch company Tactalyse is helping its national team stars thrive
Watching Pelova's development for both club and country has been fascinating, and she's easily become one of my favourite players to watch. For Ajax, Pelova became known as a goal-scoring, creative attacking midfielder, while at Arsenal she has played a slightly deeper role at times, yet still leads the way for assists this season in the BWSL with four.
Her cutting pass through the England defence in the UEFA Nations League for the Netherlands showed just what quality she holds, from wherever she is on the pitch.
Under Andries Jonker, Pelova has been utilised as a right wing-back, and has nailed that too. I remarked in a separate recent piece that any player who can star in three separate roles like Pelova is doing is a genuinely superb talent, and I think she will continue to grow into one of the best players in the league for as long as she's here.
Norway’s English appointment is an intriguing one
Gemma Grainger leaving behind her role as Wales head coach to take on the Norway job is all kinds of intriguing.
Firstly, it came right out of the blue, and judging by her quotes upon her departure, it wasn't something she had gone searching for, yet shows how valued she is that Norway came calling from presumably a wide selection of coaches who would have relished the chance to coach Ada Hegerberg, Caroline Graham Hansen, Guro Reiten and co.
On the other, the fact Norway has continued to stumble and endured a torrid World Cup under their own legend Hege Riise shows what a tough task Grainger is taking on. While the former England youth team and Leeds United head coach couldn't guide Wales to a major tournament, Grainger did a lot of good both on and off the pitch for Welsh football and undoubtedly she is a bright young coach with a big future.
Relevant Read: The Big Interview with Gemma Grainger
This job likely won't be make or break, and instead given how left-field it may possibly be viewed within Norway itself, it's somewhat of a win-win situation for Grainger. If she succeeds - whatever success looks like for Norway for these days - she will be an instant hero in the country and her stock worldwide will rise ten-fold.
If she doesn't, she will likely be viewed as another casualty of an environment which has sucked in and spat out several head coaches who have tried with little end result to get this array of talented stars performing regularly.
It says a lot about Grainger's own desire for a challenge that she took it too, which means she's already going in with the right mindset. It would have been very easy to stay within the United Kingdom were she was comfortable and continue to develop from Welsh football from the inside, but she's jumped at the chance to test herself abroad.
However it goes, this is one of the year's most intriguing appointments, admittedly among many!
Temwa follows in Tabitha’s footsteps onto the big stage
Still on recruitment, but I love it when someone gets picked up who you've been waiting for a while to see in a major league, and Temwa Chawinga is one of them.
To an extent, sister Tabitha beat her to the punch when she shone for Linkoping several years ago, before both headed off to China. Tabitha joined Inter Milan last season and was by far and away the top scorer in Serie A, leading PSG to snap her up this summer and she's already impressed in both Division 1 and the Champions League.
Temwa, an equally potent attacking player, stuck it out in China for a little more time, though it wasn't without interest from BWSL clubs over the years, but the new visa rules post-Brexit put pay of a move due to the ranking of the Chinese league and the very low ranking of the nation they both represent - Malawi.
Relevant Read: The Big Interview with Tabitha Chawinga
So it was a nice surprise to see Kansas City Current snapped up sister number two last week and placed her straight into one of the most visible leagues in the world, where I have no doubt having seen glimpses she'll rip it up.
After such a bright return in 2022, the Current endured a tough 2023, but there's no doubt it's a club going in the right direction, especially with their brand-new purpose built stadium, and the bold appointment of former USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski, formerly an NWSL winning coach.
There's plenty of talent in there to complement her too, such as Brazil's Debinha, where the two could easily become one of the toughest duos to defend against in the world. Definitely one to keep an eye on.